Fiscal controls over large projects are being stepped up following "recently highlighted deficiencies", according to Finance Minister Paula Cox.

Ms Cox told the House of Assembly she was also working more closely with the Internal Audit Department to help monitor processes, following concerns raised by former Auditor General Larry Dennis.

In her brief on the Budget Debate on the Accountant General office on Monday, the Minister said: "While the Office of the Accountant General does not itself carry out or oversee capital works development, given some of the relatively recent issues, enhancements are being provided to assist Ministries and the level of controls are being further refined.

"While there are already robust controls, some of the recently highlighted deficiencies indicate that some Ministries would benefit from some additional project management support.

"Further to ensure that our fiscal control model to ensure full compliance with international best practice we plan to utilise management levels to provide an additional review of large project payments as a tertiary review when the requests for payment is provided to our offices.

"We have also begun to work more closely with the Internal Audit Department to ensure controls are in place and regularly monitored for large project payments.

"In addition, we will also look to work with the relevant Ministry comptrollers to ensure ACG is provided with project payment schedules and the relevant supporting information — and ongoing project progress information — so that propriety of payments can be reviewed."

The debate on the Finance Ministry also focused on the Sinking Fund, with Independent MP Wayne Furbert calling on his former United Bermuda Party colleagues to be honest that Government is setting aside money to repay debt.

Ms Cox's Budget includes $28 million into the Sinking Fund — but Mr. Furbert claimed many people would have no idea what that means.

"Most Bermudians do not know what a Sinking Fund is," the one-time UBP Leader told the House. "For what they are concerned, it's a fund sinking away."

He referred to the UBP's complaints that Government has allowed debt to mount, but said: "There's $28 million in the Sinking Fund to pay for long-term debt.

"There's money being set aside every year to pay for long-term debt. You have to tell the public that the Government is paying off long-term debt."

Mr. Furbert suggested the name be changed from "Sinking Fund" to "Loan Repayment Provision".

In this year's Budget, Ms Cox set aside $18 million towards the Sinking Fund for 2010/11, as well as a further $10 million to make up for the fact none was contributed in 2009/10.

Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards said: "It's reassuring to see Government has topped up the Sinking Fund after spending last year waiving. We made quite a lot of fuss about that last year.

"We are glad to see the Government has seen the error of its ways."

Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons argued the Sinking Fund contribution might not make much of a dent in Government's rapidly rising debt levels anyway.

"When your borrowing goes up 400 percent in five years, there's no way the Sinking Fund is going to pay back at the same rate," he said.